Out today: SEVEN)SUNS - One of Us Is the Killer

Seven)Suns' classical reinterpretation of The Dillinger Escape Plan's entire 2013 album, One of Us Is the Killer, is out today on Silent Pendulum Records.

Stream the album, here: https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one-of-us-is-the-killer

Buy the album, here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/collections/sevensuns

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/06/sevensuns-x-dillinger-escape-plan.html

"The arrangements, harmonic overtones and timbral qualities of the string quartet bring out the nervous, constantly moving underbelly of Dillinger's style, emphasizing the inherent cleverness of the compositions." 

–The Wire

"There are insane music feats — and then there's a string quartet covering the Dillinger Escape Plan's 'One of Us Is the Killer' in its entirety. NYC's Seven)Suns have done just that, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the mathcore titans' teeth-rattling 2013 opus — a classical-music reinvention that comes approved by Dillinger's own guitarist-songwriter-bandleader Ben Weinman, now of Suicidal Tendencies."

–Revolver

"Seven) Suns is an avant-metal/hardcore string quartet... Their latest release, a note-for-note reimagining of the Dillinger Escape Plan‘s One of Us Is the Killer, is out now on Silent Pendulum Records."

–Talkhouse

"Comprising violinists Earl Maneein and Adda Kridler, violist Fung Chern Hwei and cellist Jennifer DeVore, Seven)Suns is a string quartet that applies classical training to the music of metal and hardcore... Such relentless works."
–The Strad

"Seven)Suns, a NYC-based string quartet, has recorded a note-for-note 10th-anniversary reinterpretation of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s 'One of Us Is the Killer' album. And who said heavy metal was dead? Let alone the string quartet."
–Slipped Disc

"Seven)Suns is marking 10 years of The Dillinger Escape Plan's monumental fifth album 'One of Us Is the Killer' with a string quartet reinterpretation of the record in full… and it's just as intense as the original."

–Metal Injection

"You ever listen to something and instantly feel… unnerved by it? That’s the exact feeling I got when I first heard Seven)Suns‘ string quartet version of The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s 'Prancer'... Dissonant chaos with a touch of class."

–MetalSucks

"There was never a moment [The Dillinger Escape Plan] weren’t pushing the envelope, all the way up to the point they disbanded – if 'OOUITK' wasn’t their most interesting post-apocolyptic aural hellscape before, these brutalist classical reconstructions will surely prompt many to reconsider. Even in this allegedly stripped down format, maximum mathematical punishment is delivered. Seven)Suns’ scholarly approach to the original arrangements reveal a number of rhythmic complexities that were previously obscured..."

–Fecking Bahamas

"Transforming [The Dillinger Escape Plan]’s ultra-complex post-hardcore/math-metal songs into instrumental chamber music pieces works quite well. Maneein’s violin often takes the vocal melody, as Hwei and Kridler tackle the band’s stacked layers of guitar riffs and DeVore handles the low end. The pieces have a lot more going on than your typical rock or metal song — it’s not just a matter of a verse, a chorus, repeat."

–Burning Ambulance

"Wait – violas and violins in metal? Of course... That being said, Seven)Suns is not just about metal, with one of their biggest influences being The Dillinger Escape Plan. The reach into metalcore, with its grindy hardcore punk influences, really works for the quartet. They don’t even need a screeching vocalist to achieve the chaos... Shivers, with awe, somehow toeing the line of deep-seated dread."
–Ghost Cult

SEVEN)SUNS x Revolver

SEVEN)SUNS: classical music disruptors recreate landmark album by metal pioneers The Dillinger Escape Plan; official music video for lead single "Prancer" streaming now

Stream the official music video for NYC string quartet Seven)Suns' cover of The Dillinger Escape Plan's “Prancer,” now via Revolver Magazine: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-sevensuns-cover-dillinger-escape-plan-prancer

"Prancer" originally appeared as the opening track on The Dillinger Escape Plan's landmark 2013 album, One of Us Is the Killer. For the the album's tenth anniversary this year, Seven)Suns has recreated the entire masterpiece, rearranging all eleven of its wildly complex tracks for violin, viola, and cello. Seven)Suns' album will be released on Silent Pendulum Records on September 29th.

Revolver reports: “There are insane music feats — and then there's a string quartet covering the Dillinger Escape Plan's ‘One of Us Is the Killer’ in its entirety. NYC's Seven)Suns have done just that, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the mathcore titans' teeth-rattling 2013 opus — a classical-music reinvention that comes approved by Dillinger's own guitarist-songwriter-bandleader Ben Weinman, now of Suicidal Tendencies.”

Pre-order the album, here (LP): https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/sevensuns-one-of-us-is-the-killer

Pre-order the album, here (digital): https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one-of-us-is-the-killer

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein, Adda Kridler, Fung Chern Hwei, and Jennifer DeVore.

Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Pärt and Hildegard Von Bingen. One of Us Is the Killer is its most ambitious project to date.

Seven)Suns’ collaborations with The Dillinger Escape Plan date back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed the attention of TDEP’s Ben Weinman with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, Weinman invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc. Seven)Suns performed live at TDEP's farewell shows in NYC in December 2017.

Other recent collabs include composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and avant-metal act Imperial Triumphant. Seven)Suns has twice been honored with residencies at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and has performed at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, The TriBeCa New Music Festival, NPR’S Green Space, and the Fairbanks Musical Association.

Photo by John DeVore

SEVEN)SUNS - "Prancer"

SEVEN)SUNS: NYC string quartet reveals classical cover of The Dillinger Escape Plan's "Prancer" from upcoming "One of Us Is the Killer" album

Classical music disruptors Seven)Suns have revealed their cover of The Dillinger Escape Plan's "Prancer."

"Prancer" is the opening track off the mathcore legend's landmark 2013 album, One of Us Is the Killer, celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Seven)Suns has recreated the entire album, rearranging all eleven of its wildly complex tracks for a string quartet. The album will be released on Silent Pendulum Records on September 29th.

Stream "Prancer," here: https://www.metalsucks.net/2023/08/10/sevensuns-somehow-makes-the-dillinger-escape-plans-prancer-sound-even-more-dangerous/

Pre-order the album, here (LP): https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/sevensuns-one-of-us-is-the-killer

Pre-order the album, here (digital): https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one-of-us-is-the-killer

MetalSucks describes Seven)Suns' sound as "dissonant chaos with a tinge of class" and goes on to report: "If The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman once described the band’s music as 'garbage cans falling down stairs,' then I’d probably describe Seven)Suns’ variation on their work like 'Joseph Haydn writing a classical piece during a major earthquake.'"

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein on violin, Adda Kridler on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, and Jennifer DeVore on cello.

Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Pärt and Hildegard Von Bingen. One of Us Is the Killer is its most ambitious project to date.

Seven)Suns’ collaborations with The Dillinger Escape Plan date back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed the attention of TDEP’s Ben Weinman with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, Weinman invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc. Seven)Suns performed live at TDEP's farewell shows in NYC in December 2017.

Other recent collabs include composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and avant-metal act Imperial Triumphant. Seven)Suns has twice been honored with residencies at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and has performed at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, The TriBeCa New Music Festival, NPR’S Green Space, and the Fairbanks Musical Association.

Photo by John DeVore

SEVEN)SUNS x Ben Weinman

SEVEN)SUNS: The Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman chats with classical music disruptors in new interview, now streaming

Classical music disruptors Seven)Suns have released a 29-minute video featuring founder/violinist Earl Maneein in conversation with The Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman, discussing Seven)Suns' upcoming new album – a note-for-note recreation of TDEP's landmark, One of Us Is the Killer.

The chat goes deep into every aspect of the ambitious project's origins and execution. Also at the table are Joseph Spiller, the album's producer, and Michael Kadnar, owner of Silent Pendulum Records, the Brooklyn-based label set to release it on September 29th.

Stream the video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0kZcv5lLQ

With 2023 marking the tenth anniversary of One of Us Is the Killer, Seven)Suns have reinterpreted the entire masterpiece, start to finish, as eleven new pieces, arranged for violin, viola, and cello. Upon the album's original release in 2013, Metal Hammer called it “the pinnacle of [The Dillinger Escape Plan's] career to date."

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein on violin, Adda Kridler on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, and Jennifer DeVore on cello.

Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Part and Hildegard Von Bingen.

Seven)Suns’ collaboration with The Dillinger Escape Plan can be traced back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed Weinman's attention with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, he invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc.

Seven)Suns' other recent forays in the metal world include collabs with experimental black metal troupe Imperial Triumphant (on a track also featuring the talents of sax god Kenny G) and post-metal visionaries So Hideous. 

The quartet plays live, August 2nd at New York's famed Joe's Pub. Buy tickets, here: https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2023/s/sevensuns/

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/06/sevensuns-x-dillinger-escape-plan.html

Photo of Ben Weinman, by Liz Ramanand

Photo of Seven)Suns, by John DeVore

SEVEN)SUNS x The Dillinger Escape Plan

SEVEN)SUNS: classical music disruptors reimagine The Dillinger Escape Plan's entire "One of Us Is the Killer" album

With 2023 marking the tenth anniversary of The Dillinger Escape Plan's monumental fifth album, One of Us Is the Killer, classical music disruptors Seven)Suns have reinterpreted the entire masterpiece, start to finish, as eleven new pieces, arranged for violin, viola, and cello. The album will be released on Silent Pendulum Records on September 29th.

Stream Seven)Suns’ version of the track ”Understanding Decay,” from One of Us Is the Killer, here: https://metalinjection.net/new-music/sevensuns-reimagined-the-dillinger-escape-plans-one-of-us-is-the-killer-and-its-brilliant

Pre-order the album, here (LP): https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/sevensuns-one-of-us-is-the-killer

Pre-order the album, here (digital): https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one-of-us-is-the-killer

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein on violin, Adda Kridler on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, and Jennifer DeVore on cello. 

Known for inventing a new musical language, Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Pärt and Hildegard Von Bingen.

Seven)Suns’ collaborations with The Dillinger Escape Plan date back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed the attention of TDEP’s Ben Weinman with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, Weinman invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc.

The alliance continued to grow: Seven)Suns performed live at TDEP's farewell shows in NYC in December 2017 and the group worked with TDEP drummer Billy Rymer on a track on his band Thoughtcrimes’ debut album.

Maneein says the concept for Seven)Suns' reimagining of One of Us Is the Killer grew out of a conversation with Weinman during the peak of the pandemic. “I figured transcribing some of the craziest music from one of the craziest bands ever was a good way to pass the time,” he states.

With Maneein and Fung creating string arrangements for all eleven of the dizzying songs, recording commenced at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ, with TDEP guitarist Kevin Antreassian at the helm. The album was mixed and mastered by Joseph Spiller.

Metal Injection’s review of the original album in 2013 stated: "One of Us Is the Killer proves that Dillinger Escape Plan are still, and always will be, some of the best jazz musicians out there, making some of the most standout metal that no band on Earth can emulate with such composure." Metal Hammer called it “the pinnacle of their career to date." As evidenced by the first single, "Understanding Decay," Seven)Suns' approach to TDEP's material is electrifying. Using the language of classical music, Maneein, Kridler, Fung, and DeVore bring new fire and ferocity to the music. TDEP shattered boundaries ten years ago and now Seven)Suns have delivered a brand new shattering.

The group's other recent forays in the metal world include collabs with experimental black metal troupe Imperial Triumphant (on a track also featuring the talents of sax god Kenny G) and post-metal visionaries So Hideous.

Tracklist:

1) Prancer

2) When I Lost My Bet

3) One of Us Is the Killer

4) Hero of the Soviet Union

5) Nothing's Funny

6) Understanding Decay

7) Paranoia Shields

8) CH 375 268 277 ARS

9) Magic That I Held You Prisoner

10) Crossburner

11) The Threat Posed by Nuclear Weapons

Photo by John DeVore